Nanoscale Fluid-Structure Interactions in Cytoplasm During Freezing

Abstract

In this study, a theoretical model is developed to simulate the biophysical events in the intracellular spaces considering the biphasic, i.e., poroelastic, behavior of the cytoplasm. Most previous studies in the cryobiology literature have modeled the biophysical response of cells to freezing assuming the spatial homogeneity of all physical properties within the intracellular space without considering fluid-structure interaction in both the intracellular and extracellular spaces. However, a few recent studies strongly indicate that spatial heterogeneity in the intracellular space occurs during freezing. We thus model the cytoplasm as a poroelastic material considering nanoscale fluid-structure interaction between the cytoskeleton and cytosol, and the effects of hierarchical fluid-structure interaction across the cell during freezing.